Evaluation of HRQoL in Adult With Immune Thrombocytopenia in China

Overview

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a heterogeneous disorder with variable clinical symptomsHealth related quality of life (HRQoL) could be considered in ITP, as in numerous chronic diseases, as a method to provide information about the effects of medical interventions. Symptoms of ITP, such as spontaneous bruising, menorrhagia, mucosal bleeding and prolonged bleeding with injury, may significantly affect HRQoL in ITP subjects. Treatments for chronic ITP can also be associated with substantial side effects. Restoring and/or maintaining quality of life should be an important goal of treatment. We conducted a real-world multicenter study using SF-36 and ITP-PAQ questionnaires to assess the HRQoL in patients with ITP in the real world, and analyze the influencing factors of HRQoL so as to provide a sufficient basis for clinical decision making.

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune thrombocytopenic syndrome characterized by decreased platelet count and an increased risk of bleeding.The pathogenesis of ITP has been considered as autoantibody-mediated and cell-mediated platelet over-destruction. The estimated prevalence for ITP in the China is 5-10/100,000. Adult women are disproportionately affected by the disorder, with a female to male ratio of nearly two to one. The disorder rarely remits spontaneously in adult subjects. The mortality rate is relatively low (\< 1%) in adults less than 65 years of age. Morbidity increases above age 65, primarily as a result of an increase in age-related major bleeding events. The decision to treat and the type of treatment are controversial, since among the different medications available, none has proven its superiority regarding reduction in bleeding complications or transition to chronic ITP. Furthermore, profound thrombocytopenia, the risk of intracranial bleeding, and the appearance of bruises may seriously influence lifestyle, school functioning and physical activities and frequently result in anxiety in children and adults. Therefore, since the benefit-risk ratio of current medications is unclear and as the psychological and the physical burden of the disease is highly variable, it appears necessary to develop new tools to better understand the exact impact of the disease on daily life. Although treatment decision making depends essentially on the physician's experience, it seems of interest to include in this reflection a measurement of quality of life. In this context, evaluation of health related quality of life (HRQoL) could be considered in ITP, as in numerous chronic diseases, as a method to provide information about the effects of medical interventions. Symptoms of ITP, such as spontaneous bruising, menorrhagia, mucosal bleeding and prolonged bleeding with injury, may significantly affect HRQoL in ITP subjects. Treatments for chronic ITP can also be associated with substantial side effects. In addition, subjects who are resistant to current therapies are likely to experience an even greater decrement to their HRQoL than responders to treatment. Thus, restoring and/or maintaining quality of life should be an important goal of treatment. HRQoL can be analyzed by universal or disease specific scales, the latter usually have better reactivity. Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) is one of the most widely used universal HRQoL scales, and it is widely used in the HRQoL measurement of general population, evaluation of clinical trials and health policy evaluation. The ITP Participants Assessment Questionnaire (ITP-PAQ) was developed to assess disease-specific quality of life (QoL) in adults with ITP. It is a 44-item questionnaire that includes scales for physical health (symptoms, fatigue/sleep, bother, and activity), emotional health (psychological and fear), overall QoL, social activity, women's reproductive health, and work. The reliability and validity of these scales have been confirmed by a number of studies at home and abroad. Therefore, the investigators conducted a real-world multicenter study using SF-36 and ITP-PAQ questionnaires to assess the HRQoL in participants with ITP in the real world, and analyze the influencing factors of HRQoL so as to provide a sufficient basis for clinical decision making.